


Gotham Bats and Birds

by kryptonianmenace



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Actor AU, Gen, Muscular dystrophy, Mutism, selective mutism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:20:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 3,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23039962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kryptonianmenace/pseuds/kryptonianmenace
Summary: Gotham Bats and Birds is the hit series following the Batman and his gaggle of teammates. This is a series of moments following the actors, known to the fans as the Batfamily.NOT REAL PERSON FIC
Comments: 12
Kudos: 56
Collections: All Your Faves Are Neurodivergent And/Or Disabled





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> These will not be in any set order.  
> All teams (such as Justice League, Teen Titans, Young Justice, etc) in this universe exist as movies.  
> The main show in this universe is _Gotham Bats and Birds._ Other shows that exist in this universe are _Sunset in Metropolis_ and _The Kryptonians._  
>  This is not meant to be good, it's meant for my enjoyment.

Fifteen year old Jason Todd sat across from Vicki Vale, politely hiding his dread at the upcoming interview.

“Jason, it’s so good to have you back!” Vicki exclaimed.

He grinned. “It’s good to be back, Vicki!”

Vicki turned to the camera. “Today we’re here with Jason Todd, best known for his role of Ben Barnes, better known as the second Robin, on  _ Gotham Bats and Birds. _ Though I almost didn’t recognize you, what with your red hair!” she concluded as she turned back to Jason.

Jason laughed and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I dyed it for my newest show,  _ Sunset in Metropolis _ . I play Lois Lane’s runaway son.”

Jason held back a smirk as Vicki failed to hide the look of disdain on her face at the mention of Lois Lane, actress and reporter extraordinaire, the reason Vicki never got a job at the Daily Planet like she so hoped.

Luckily, Vicki composed herself quickly and continued on. “Are you excited for your upcoming role?”

“Yeah! I’ve never done a soap opera before, though plenty of people have told me that  _ Bats and Birds _ films like one,” Jason said with a laugh. “But you know  _ GBB _ , we like to make sure the ages are accurate to the characters, so we film as quickly as possible. It’ll be cool to work with a new set of people and see how things are run with them.”

“Speaking of  _ Gotham Bats and Birds _ ,” Vicki said, “this last season ended on quite the shocking note for your character.”

Jason grinned. “Oh yeah. Ben is dead.”

“And at the audience’s hands, at that!” Vicki exclaimed.

“Yeah, I think a lot of people doubted that the poll was serious,” Jason said, “but we were one hundred percent going through with the results.”

“Can you tell us more about why the poll? Why let the audience decide?” Vicki asked.

Jason shifted in his seat and shrugged. “The show’s writers originally wanted to write me off the show for _ Sunset _ by having Ben go off to boarding school, and when I was talking to them I was like ‘No. That’s not high stakes enough for this show. We don’t know if I’ll ever be back, Ben would never allow Terry to ship him off to boarding school where he can’t help Gotham, his home. I would rather you just kill me off the show.’ They were against it of course, saying that the fans wouldn’t be for it, but I’m in the forums, I listen to the fans. People didn’t like Ben. So I talked them into the poll. And what do you know? The fans wanted Ben dead.”

“So you were behind it!” Vicki said.

“It was all me,” Jason said. “I even worked with the writers to come up with how Ben died. It was a very fun process and it made me realize I want to work with script-writing more in the future.”


	2. Chapter 2

Excerpt from  **A Chat With Bruce Wayne** by Clark Kent:

I recently spent quite some time with Bruce Wayne on the set of  _ Justice League  _ but this past weekend, I was able to interview him about his thoughts on the movie, his new spin-off show  _ Gotham Bats and Birds, _ and his home life.

Bruce! It’s wonderful to see you again! It feels like it’s been ages since you were threatening me with kryptonite.

_ And since you goofed off on set. It’s good to see you, Clark. _

I didn’t goof off all the time. Only when you were looking.

_ Make sure your readers know about the time you tried to lick the kryptonite. _

Will do! Moving on, I do have some questions for you. To start, Batman is quite the unique role for you. You usually play, in your own words, “stereotypical playboys and airheads,” yet here you are playing a serious hero, who plays a father figure role to his sidekick, at that.

_ That’s where  _ Gotham Bats and Birds _ is going to be interesting. You’ll get to see Terry McGinnis, the Batman, and Ricky Sherwood, Robin, in their civilian lives as well. I can’t say much, but I can say we definitely played into my strengths when it came to writing Terry’s civilian persona. It’s a fun dynamic, balancing Terry and the Batman. _

I look forward to seeing it! Do we see how Terry and Ricky got into the vigilante life?

_ In the first season, yes. Dick is fourteen now but Ricky started as Robin at a much younger age, so we see it in flashbacks. All the kids on set are phenomenal at their jobs, I sometimes can’t believe I’m working with such raw talent. _

I can imagine. I remember working with Dick and Billy on  _ Justice League _ and they were so talented. So are there a lot of kids on set?

_ Oh, so many. That’s all I’ll say to avoid spoilers. _

Fair enough.  _ Justice League _ had a found family aspect to it, would you say  _ Gotham Bats and Birds _ goes in a different direction?

_ No, found family is very much important to the show. We, the actors, refer to our characters as the Batfamily.  _

That’s adorable. Speaking of family, how’s yours?

_ Damian just turned three, which you know since you were at the birthday party. But he’s rambunctious. He keeps trying to steal the neighbor’s cat. _

Oh boy. Let’s hope that energy is calmed down a little in time for your wedding to Selina.

_ Here’s hoping. _


	3. Chapter 3

“Hey guys, I’m here, behind the scenes of  _ Teen Titans _ with Wally West and Garfield Logan!” Sixteen year old Dick exclaimed into the camera he held. He swung the camera around to show Garfield sitting in a make-up chair with Wally sprawled out on his back on the floor playing a video game next to him. “Say hi!”

“Dick! I’m naked!” Garfield, fully clothed, exclaimed.

“Yeah Dick! You can’t show the fans him looking like that!” Wally said. “Where’s the green?”

“Where’s the green?” Garfield asked.

“The green is in your heart, Gar,” Dick said.

Garfield clutched his heart. “And the make-up kit,” he added.

“That’s right folks,” Wally said, still on the floor, “all this is body paint, not CGI. When Beast Boy turns into an animal? Body paint.”

“It makes green screen super hard,” Dick said. “What with him being green and all.”

“Dick, I  _ just  _ said no CGI,” Wally said.

“Right, right, I forgot,” Dick said.

“And they call you the Boy Wonder,” Wally said with a roll of his eyes.

“Excuse me, Wally West, it’s called  _ acting _ , thank you very much,” Dick said.

“Then why are you  _ acting  _ so stupid?” Wally shot back.

“Them’s fighting words, West, you wanna go?” Dick asked.

Wally dropped his video game on his chest and spread his arms out. “Yeah, let’s go, Grayson, come on.”

“Where ya going? Can I come?” Garfield asked. He looked directly into the camera. “I hope it’s Denny’s.”


	4. Chapter 4

“So tell us more about you and Stephanie!” Vicki exclaimed. “You have such wonderful chemistry on screen together. Does that extend into real life?”

There it was. The question he had been dreading the entire interview. The one his agent had warned him about. Fifteen year old Tim Drake had to keep himself from cringing at the question. He hated questions like this, all invasive and pushy and expectant.

“Steph and I get along great! There are some things happening in the upcoming season that will make Alvin and Carrie’s relationship a little rocky, though. Alvin’s dad will make things complicated for Alvin, which will lead to a really exciting route for Carrie’s character,” Tim said.

“You’re dodging the question, Timmy,” Vicki said, laughing.

Tim held back a sigh, trying not to appear as annoyed as he felt. “Am I? I hadn’t noticed.”

“As intrigued as I am about these upcoming complications in the show, we still have our original question. Are you and Stephanie dating?” Vicki asked.

“On the show, yes,” Tim said, giving a smirk.

Vicki let out a high pitched laugh as she sensed that Tim was continuing to not cooperate. “And how about in real life, sweetie?”

At that, Tim felt something in him snap. He was sick of these questions. Of the condescension. He could already hear his parents and agent lecturing him for what he was about to say, but he didn’t care. He threw all caution to the wind. “Vicki, I’m gay in real life.”

The shock was clear on Vicki’s face.

“Yeah,” Tim plowed on. “I’ve been working with the showrunners to try to get Alvin a male love interest. Conner Kent, who I met on  _ Young Justice _ , and I have actually been talking about trying to get Kon El from  _ The Kryptonians _ to cameo on  _ Gotham Bats and Birds _ as Alvin’s boyfriend.”

“Isn’t Alvin still dating Carrie?” Vicki asked after she composed herself.

“Remember the complications I mentioned?” Tim asked. “A lot of stuff is about to go down.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Thank you for granting me this interview, Damian,” Cat Grant said. “I know you typically avoid interviews, do you mind me asking why?”

Fourteen year old Damian shrugged. “Well, I’ve grown up watching my parents in the public eye, and before I decided to join them in acting, they tried to keep me out of it. Another part of it is that I’m wary of interviewers being too pushy and pressing me until I say something that I can’t take back, like what happened with my brother Tim and Vicki Vale. I decided to do an interview with you because you came highly recommended from the Kent-Lane family, who I trust wholeheartedly.”

“That means quite a lot, Damian,” Cat said. “And for our viewers at home who may be wondering what Damian means by mentioning Tim, he’s referencing the interview between Tim Drake and Vicki Vale that took place three years ago in which Tim Drake came out as gay. If I recall correctly, Tim was taken in by your family when his family reacted poorly, isn’t that right?”

Damian scoffed. “Poorly is an understatement. But that doesn’t matter now, because now he’s Tim Drake-Wayne, and he’s my brother, and it’s great.”

“That’s quite the opposite attitude from your characters on  _ Gotham Bats and Birds! _ ” Cat said.

“Yeah, it’s pretty fun to act as if we hate each other,” Damian said with a grin. “Laith is a menace of a child and it leads to Alvin and him not getting along, which is nothing like Tim and I. We like to joke about it, though. We’ll be eating dinner and he’ll ask me to pass the potatoes or something but then he’ll add ‘or are you going to stab me again?’”

“Your whole household is on  _ Gotham Bats and Birds _ , what with you and Tim, your father, your step-mother - not to mention your mother and grandfather! What has that experience been like for you?”

“Oh, it’s been a little weird. Batman and Robin and all the rest have been part of my household for as long as I can remember, almost before I was even born, if you count how long it took to film  _ Justice League _ . They’re like extra family members, you could say. My father’s never called me Laith in the house, likely because I’m the newest to the show, but the amount of times he and Tim have accidentally called each other by their characters’ names is hilarious. We’ve also opened up our home to the rest of the cast whenever they feel they need it, so we constantly have them in and out, and I’ve grown up with them in my life. It was easy to transition to working with them because I already knew everyone. At the same time, I know it’ll be an adjustment if I ever work on a different project,” Damian said.


	6. Chapter 6

Eighteen year old Jason Todd cursed and hid in a supply closet.

No one had warned him that there would be an exclusive backstage tour today.

And well.

Ben Barnes may be the Red Hood, but no one knew that yet. As far as they knew, Jason Todd was no longer on the show.

Slowly he peaked out of the closet to see if he could sneak to his trailer to hide out there until the tour cleared out.

He met nineteen year old Cassandra Cain’s eyes as she peered curiously at the open door.

Quirking a grin, she nodded her head towards the oblivious tour group.

“Yeah,” Jason said.

“Follow,” Cass said, gesturing.

Together, the two snuck through the sets, Jason’s heart pounding.

They snuck into Cass’ trailer, where Cass grabbed her phone and shot off a text message to someone.

“Told director,” she said.

“About the tour group almost spotting me?” Jason asked.

Cass nodded.

Jason slumped in the chair he had commandeered. “She’s gonna be so pissed.”


	7. Chapter 7

Excerpt from  **From Mouth Of Stephanie Brown** by Lois Lane:

The last season of  _ Gotham Bats and Birds  _ ended with yet another dead Robin: this time it was Carrie Kelly at the hands of Black Mask.

The response to Carrie Kelly taking over for Alvin Draper was resoundingly negative, so this death should come as no surprise, and yet the timing of sixteen year old actress Stephanie Brown’s near deadly car accident tells us that this on screen death was not originally in the plans.

_ Yeah, no, _ Stephanie herself told me when she granted me an interview.  _ Carrie was meant to be Robin for a long time, but the accident, combined with the backlash, led to us refilming the end of the season and killing her off. _

Q: It must be disheartening, to get to take on such a distinctive role, and have it yanked out from you so suddenly.

_ Oh, definitely. Dick, Jason, and Tim were so excited to welcome me to the ranks of Robin. It was thrilling. And I’ll still get to say I was Robin, but it still sucks, knowing it could’ve been longer. I haven’t been kicked out of the group chat, at least. Jason and I are thinking of starting a Dead Robins Club. _

Q: Is this the end of your time with  _ Gotham Bats and Birds  _ indefinitely? Or will there be things like flashbacks?

_ We’re still in talks to figure out what we’re going to do when I fully recover. The showrunners want to keep me on the show as much as I want to stay, but with the severity of my injuries, we went with the death because we weren’t sure if I was going to make it. The fact that I did is a miracle, and I know I should be thrilled, but all I can think about is "how am I going to get back on the show?" I love GBB so much, I miss it terribly. _

Q: How did your co-stars react to your accident? Did they tell you?

_ I’ve talked to them about it a bit. When I was recovered enough to refilm the death scenes and the funeral scenes, I saw them all struggling. Bruce, who never reshoots unless he has to, did multiple takes because he was so torn up. It probably didn’t help that he was the one in the car with me, after all. _


	8. Chapter 8

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut this interview short,” twenty-two year old Barbara Gordon said on live television.

Vicki Vale tried to hide her shocked sputtering.

“This is not the first time you’ve been disrespectful about my disability, Vicki,” Barbara continued. “I’ve been civil for the sake of my career, but I’ve had enough. I won’t stand for this anymore - and don’t you  _ fucking _ dare say anything about how I can’t stand at all anymore.

“I have muscular dystrophy. I always have. The showrunners of  _ Gotham Bats and Birds _ have always known that I have it. The plan to make me Oracle has always been in the making.

“So I don’t know where you think you have the right to make comments about the plotline, or my character, or my disability.

“Muscular dystrophy is a real disease, and I’m not ashamed of it. We chose not to give it to Bette because I am not my character and my character is not me. My disability does not define me and I can act despite it. Yet we always knew there would come a day that I might be in a wheelchair for good. So we wrote the Joker plotline as a contingency.

“Expecting me to just walk it off is all well and good for Bette, a fictional character, but not for me. I can’t walk off my disability, Vicki.

“So, in conclusion, I’ve had enough of your disrespectful comments about my disability, which has always been public knowledge, and I refuse to ever interview again. Congrats, this is the second actor from  _ Gotham Bats and Birds _ that you’ve alienated,” Barbara finished.


	9. Chapter 9

“Well, it’s called  _ selective _ mutism, you see. So maybe she just doesn’t want to talk to you,” nineteen year old Jason Todd said. “I don’t blame her, Vicki. Not many people like you.”

Vicki Vale gaped as twenty year old Cassandra Cain let out a small grin.

“Mean,” Cass said.

“She’s mean?” Jason asked, turning his full attention to Cass and blatantly tuning out Vicki.

Cass giggled and nodded.

“Yeah, you’re right. There was that time with Tim and that time with Babs, right? She just pushes and pushes until she gets us to snap and point out how terrible she is,” Jason said. “Maybe the goal is to make us look bad, but really it just reflects back on her. Like seriously, who picks on disabled people?”

“I just don’t understand how Cassandra can have speaking lines on the show when she has selective mutism,” Vicki said, trying to save face.

Jason glared at her, while Cass smiled, leaning back on the couch.

“The showrunners give her lines and tell her to communicate it best she can. She speaks when she can. The rest of our scripts don’t have her lines so it doesn’t seem like we’re reading her mind. Sometimes we have to adlib when we don’t quite get what her line is,” he snapped. “Personally, I think it adds to the show, having a mute character. It helps raise awareness and adds to the character. It also allows us to think on our feet when we’re filming.”

**Author's Note:**

> Character names within the show in this universe are as follows:  
> Bruce Wayne plays Terry McGinnis (not the Batman Beyond version, just a fun nod to it)  
> Dick Grayson plays Ricky Sherwood  
> Jason Todd plays Ben Barnes  
> Tim Drake plays Alvin Draper  
> Steph Brown plays Carrie Kelly (again, just a fun nod)  
> Barbara Gordon plays Bette Kane  
> Cass Cain plays Bobbi Moon  
> Damian (Al Ghul) Wayne plays Laith (Wahid) McGinnis  
> Duke Thomas plays Elio Scott  
> Kate Kane plays Rebecca Candy  
> Harper Row plays JJ Faraday  
> Selina Kyle plays Felicity Thomas  
> Talia Al Ghul plays Geula Wahid
> 
> [Check out my tumblr!](https://haljordanisbatman.tumblr.com/)


End file.
